Tag: World Gym Challenge

I guess it’s easier to explain what it is not in the modern age. It is not an app. An app is used for you in this industry to go into a gym and use it for personal goal setting. The difference between an app and World Gym Challenge is that WGC is a sport. A sport for gyms and this is the crucial difference.

The average gym member will not wear a watch with a sports timer on their wrist and so most time based challenges are a not starter for them, so lets just rule out those who do not have a sports timing device on their wrist as well. You cannot take part effectively if you are timing yourself on a mobile. It’s too fiddly and you are likely to become beyond frustrated.

So lets figure out what World Gym Challenge is then!

World Gym Challenge is a gym challenge first and foremost. As incredible as it may seem, most modern day gyms do not engage their members into some sort of sporting challenge based on the equipment they supply.

There are a number of reasons for this , but predominately the overriding point being that gyms just do not have the know how, nor do they possess the staff qualified to create the challenges, or implement them into a structured event.

That is not to say that the staff in gyms are not qualified in personal training or gym instruction, its just that their level of competence is based on individual members for personal gain – a client.

Gym Sport , is mainly conducted outside of those circles. The average gym athlete is highly motivated and has been training in a gym for a number of years. They rarely if ever use the services of a personal trainer. Ironically personal trainers make very good gym athletes as they know the protocols to engage in methods of training.

So you should by now be getting the picture – an individual who is highly motivated. Above average fitness and finding the urge to train for something that they find in the place they train at – hence the creation of Gym Sport.

And this is where the problem lies – Gyms do not as a whole cater for that demographic. There is no money in it for them, so why waste the time to put something on that is rarely used. And then we see the what happens when gyms just ignored those people – CrossFit was allowed to emerge and become the driving force in Fitness. And yet the infrastructure was in place for Gym Sport to be the driving force in events. All those people who liked to be challenged left their gyms in the their droves – the inspirational , motivated and very fit types, left and joined Boxes from all over the world. And the rest is history shall we say.

But Gym Sport is not CrossFit – Its so far removed from CF that it hardly shares any comparison.

Gym Sport basis for evolvement is EFR – whats that you ask ? EFR is Equal Fitness Racing, you race somebody of equal fitness to you , whether you are super fit , or juts somebody who is starting out. EFR is based on split timing of segments of racing that form the core structure for Gym Sport. Basically if you know your own training regime and can implement that into a race program, then you are on the way to being a gym athlete.

A lot of people are out there forming their own foundational building blocks to forming a sport and there is a danger of saturation when the financial rewards start to materialise and the cracks in solid companies that were first on board to create sport in fitness can develop. It really boils down to the separation of key strategic start ups and who will last the distance when the injection of major capital funding decides to dominate the fitness arena.

World Gym Challenge has been sitting in the shadows watching all sorts of events, sports and competitions , mainly based on apps being launched into the modern world , but in the past twelve years or so of its conception, training in a gym has changed little . Predominantly there are supply chains of equipment to gyms, who mainly feature the Treadmill , Bike and Rower as its core product and World Gym Challenge capitalises on using these three multi functional pieces of equipment along with bodyweight exercises and non Olympic Lifting lifts into their regime of training. We are not CrossFit , we have no intention of being associated with CrossFit and the market of existing gyms is our bases for partners who would like to tray and create that spark in the gym for their members to train towards events that when consistently are competed will form the basis of sport recognition in a gym.

So as a pre cursor to changing skills for training adapt to modern times, so does the need to change the existing World Gym Challenge to a new challenge.

We did this , based on the three changes to make Gym Sport more available and non intrusive and disruptive to existing gyms. Gym Challenges are created so that members can compete during their normal training plans and then focus on any event should the gym choose to set up its own.

The new challenge will be announced soon , but you can see it after you have logged into World Gym Challenge in the folder named World Gym Challenge !

OK , so you are now in the sub 12 minute category of FitBrit (Advanced) and you are thinking about training for the big day in December and then thinking how is the best way to train for this?

Well lets something straight outa the way first, those of you with a qualifying time of – sub 10’s (Men) sub 11 (Women’s) one of you will win this.

So there is no magic potion here, if you are in that category, chances are you have a good shot at winning FitBrit. But training for FitBrit needs a very good understanding of your maximal output.

So here at WGC , we have developed a Treadmill , Row , Bike and CTF finish Circuit.

Aim

To understand your maximal outputs in set distances.

A game plan before you go into the final is a good starting point. To know what your maximal reach is during each stage of FitBrit in your head and what you can do without gassing out during your race is a sensible approach.

Alternative Training

Alternative Training is the new approach to endurance events, where the focus is more on brain activity during an endurance race and heart rate control. It’s exclusive to WGC and is reliant on having a sports watch monitor and understanding splits in your training approach.

Treadmill speeds

Know your treadmill speeds

This 2000 m pyramid plays on set speeds with 30 seconds recovery

800 m – as fast as you can on one speed

600 m – match your above speed

400 m – match your above speed

200 m + 2 kph on your best speed

Row 500 m pace

Know your 400 m pull / stroke finish

At 400 m (finals distance) you need to get as much distance covered in the shortest possible time (No shit Sherlock) But if you get on to row and are unable to give your best ever 400 m, it could be the matter of winning and losing .

The final 400 m needs to be conducted by not even looking at the screen , but knowing how many pulls / strokes will get you to the finish line. So you must work on your row ratio. And get the most economical finish.

You must be able to complete 400m in your set number of pull / strokes.

Bike RPM

Maintain high RPM on the Bike

Lvl 14 for Men is a hard slog and Level 10 for women is a push

120 plus rpm must be maintained for the duration of the 1.5 km .

You will need to be coming in under 2 minutes – 2.20 for a 1.5 km finish

Ideally if Mens Fitness and Fitness First DW Fitness got their act together they would be supplying WattBikes.

World Gym Challenge – FitBrit Gym Circuit 2

30 second recoveries prepare the brain in knowing exactly what breaks you are getting when mixed with fixed distances .

2 min recovery breaks allow the heart rate to return to a lower acceptable start point

FitBrit Gym Circuit 2

The CTF Lateral Jump Burpees need to be completed in one hit, which will be possibly where a lot of finalist will come unstuck and a smooth technique , is what needs to be worked on.

What happens at the point of arrival to the point of departure when you enter the gym?

How do you get the balance right in training?

What will make you return and continue the cycle without getting bored?

How do you know if your training is working?

Ive been going to the gym for the best part of twenty years and in all that time, Ive been searching for the answer to the perfect workout. I will get something out of the way first aesthetics has never interested me. How you look and how you want to look is more of a personal issue and for those of you who train for this, there is nothing wrong with it, but this post will not be aimed at you .

Ive noticed over the years, that fitness magazines basically regurgitate the same information and pictures of training, the bent over row, the standing shoulder press , the same type of sets, the same type of training.

The information being delivered is outdated, not really agreed with within the fitness community and often the cause of misinformation and constant arguments.

So what makes the way we train at World Gym Challenge any different, why do we consider ourself ahead of the game ?

And the answer lies in its focus on the brain. The brain is the powerhouse for the body. If it says stop, you will stop. If it says give in, you will give in. And everybody is governed by the brain when it comes to training. The brain is point of focus that has to be in tune with your body, if you are going to train effectively.

Ive been working on a simple principle of repetitive training. Its the same old argument if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you will get what you always have. Or will you ?

Why is it then , the 2000 m is the set distance for the rower?

Why is the marathon at 26 miles?

Why is the fastest sprint in the world 100 m ?

The answer is so that you can create the right training pattern for a set distance. If you have random , constant changes, that you will forever be searching for answers about your training.

So the circuit I created was

5 km Bike

1 km Row

400 m 10 %

Each with a two minute recovery between them. And completed twice . That will be around a 43 to 44 minute circuit.

The idea is to run, the last 400 m at 10 % incline at a constant speed of 9 kph (depending on fitness levels) speed levels will vary.

The row is at 18 spm with a variable of a 2.05 / 2.07 500 m split

The Bike is touching on between 95 – 100 rpm (level 12 Life fitness)

It is essentially six challenges done back to back with 2 minutes recovery. Each peak represents a section of this challenge

Peak 1 – Bike

Peak 2 – Row

Peak 3 – Treadmill

Peak 4 – Bike

Peak 5 – Row

Peak 6 – Treadmill

Its the treadmill we are focused on to enable all six peaks to to have only one pinnacle and not be broken as seen in Peak 3 and 6 .

I will show you 3 more graphs where I have tried to get six single peaks and failed

There is a kill point at which time the brain, says give up on the treadmill and it only happens on the treadmill, the bike and row are not maximal efforts, although the heart rate would suggest it is on the row. The row is tough, but at 153 – 156 hr you do not reach the kill point on the row (the moment of absolute exhaustion where the brain has given in) but you do on the treadmill

That is not to say it can’t be reached on the rower – ask any rower! But on this test the 400 m 10% incline is the final test for the brain to be tested.

To reach six peaks only is the desired goal.

So in theory you can train the same system, same routine, but your goals are defined by your mental ability to endure the rising heart rate and being able to control the signals to your brain with the urge to give in.

If you look at the first 4 questions in this thread, by completing six peaks, will answer them all. The focus and desire is there, the only restriction is controlling the brain signals which force you to stop.

That is how we train at World Gym Challenge. That is what makes our training different.

Its not about how we look, but how we focus during our training.

Point of interest. You can get a faster time on the treadmill by recovering when you have completed 50% distance (over 200m) and then sprinting at a far higher constant speed – but that defeats the object. It’s cheating without cheating. To run the constant speed is the test. To get only six peaks. And this is where you be challenged.

Charles Green is from a number of gym’s. Fitness First in Romford, Absolute Gym in Romford and his local CrossFit Box too. At one time he was spending over £200 a month on gym membership alone. Charles is a dedicated gym athlete. He also won FitBrit in 2015, beating Mens’s Fitness promo athlete Will Kane. In 2016, Charles for some reason was not invited to the finals, although having submitted a time that allowed him to qualify.

Gym Sport Championships

World Gym Challenge created 36 events to be completed each year at your own gym. We supply the database so that any member of a gym take part and have their results uploaded into a giant database so that all results can be be compared.

The events are broken down into 6 Series Events

Legends

Baddass

Bite Hard

Braves

Hard Steel

Psycho

Each Series having six gym challenges to complete.

This is Black Hawk from ‘ Braves’ it allows both Intermediate and Advanced athletes to see their combined comparisons.

This is the video that shows you the disciplines involved in Black Hawk